


the convenience of it all

by mochiho (pining)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Convenience Store, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chanyeol is a broke student, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Wooing, and Donghyuck and him become bros, this is very self-indulgent and weird sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-13 01:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10503819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pining/pseuds/mochiho
Summary: The bell above the door jingles and Chanyeol turns back around, only to see the young boy from a few minutes ago standing in the doorway. He’s out of breath, hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, his backpack is nowhere to seen and neither is the plastic bag with his earlier purchases. He walks up to counter and pulls a crumpled bill from his front pocket. He reaches forward, shoving it into the empty jar by Chanyeol’s elbow labeled: Tips.“That’s from my brother.” He tells Chanyeol, and then he’s gone.





	

**Author's Note:**

> omg hi so i'm not dead and this is such a weird fic?? well i mean i wrote one about bleeding walls so it's not that weird but donghyuck being bros with chanyeol is odd but i just recently got into nct and i love donghyuck with all my heart and i wanted to write somehing with him.
> 
> also pcyis isn't dead either it'll be updated soon.

Chanyeol is woken by the sound of a crash and the feeling of small hands gripping his shoulders. He jolts forward, his eyes blinking open slowly.  
  
“Znt — What the fuck?” He asks, the heels of his palms pressing into his eyes. He rubs them until there’s spots of colours dancing across his vision, a crescendo of blues and yellows blurring together on the inside of his eyelids.  
  
“Really? You talk to all your customers like that?” Chanyeol blinks and the colours fade. He looks down and blinks again at the young boy standing on other side of the counter, his clothes are rumpled and there’s a red sticker labeled “discount” sticking to the fabric of his t-shirt.  
  
“Only the ones that interrupt my sleeping — you woke me up right? Those were your little hands on me?”  
  
“Obviously dude, do you see anyone else here?”  
  
Chanyeol sighs. “I guess not.”    
  
He sits on the stool behind the counter, his legs twisting the seat ever so slightly as the young boy places a bottle of soda on the already sticky counter and a small pack of mentos beside it. Chanyeol reaches out and twists the bottle in his hands, inspecting it. His eyes move from the bottle and onto the boy who was just holding it.  
  
He’s looking down, picking at the sticker on his chest, his dark purple hair curled against his forehead. Underneath his jacket he can see that there’s a school blazer wrapped around his waist and even from here he can see the numerous stains littering the expensive fabric. Chanyeol scans both the items and places them in a plastic bag. He reaches his hand out and the kid’s eyebrows shoot up after a moment of hesitation, pulling the bag hanging around his shoulders to his front.  
  
“Ah, good you have cash.” Chanyeol sighs, grabbing the bill from the younger boys hands. “I don’t want any of this stuff being traced back to me— shit’s dangerous kid.”  
  
He laughs and Chanyeol suddenly feels old.  
  
“Don't worry— “ He leans forward, squinting to read Chanyeol’s name tag. “Chanyeol! I’ll make sure no one knows it was you.” He pats the bag, it swings heavily. “They’ll have to force it out of me, like in those spy movies.”  
  
Chanyeol smiles and nods as he leaves, a salute sitting steadily on his temple. The door closes with a jingle and Chanyeol leans forward onto his elbows, playing with a bear sticker that was left there by a young girl. She had them all over, her cheeks, her dress, her bag. Chanyeol had even let her stick a few to his ears. It’s been a few weeks since then  
  
He spins himself around on the stool a few times, gripping the side of the counter to give himself better momentum. Kids always seemed to flock to him, never understood why. Maybe it was his ears, and how they reminded the children of a movie they watched about an elephant once, or how he cracked simple jokes with them as their mother’s paid for their items. He stops the chair from spinning and stares at himself in the cracked mirror behind the counter. At some point, maybe they recognized the childlike glint in his eyes, the one that glittered like a star. But that’s just what it was, a star. It’s already been dead or dying by the time you see it.  
  
The bell above the door jingles and Chanyeol turns back around, only to see the young boy from a few minutes ago. He’s out of breath, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, his backpack is nowhere to seen and neither is the plastic bag with his earlier purchases. He walks up to counter and pulls a crumpled bill from his front pocket. He reaches forward, shoving it into the empty jar by Chanyeol’s elbow labeled: Tips.  
  
“That’s from my brother.” He tells Chanyeol, and then he’s gone.

*

He starts coming into the store everyday after school. Chanyeol doesn’t know this of course because he only works a few days out the week but the next time the door chimes and the boy comes waltzing in with his backpack pulling on his shoulders and his large parka folded in his arms he slams a pack of gum on the counter and gives him a blank stare.  
  
“You weren’t here for the past couple days.” He says and Chanyeol scans the gum.  
  
“I don’t work here everyday y’know, I have a life.” The boy laughs at that and Chanyeol hands him his purchase.  
  
“The guy who was working here was weird as hell, I mean, you look weird as hell but he was just weird.” The boy says to him as he throws his backpack onto the floor and peels his jacket off his body. He dumps his jacket next to his bag. He reaches over to take the packet of gum from the counter and Chanyeol sees the “Hello my name is:” sticker stuck to the breast pocket of his blazer. It reads Donghyuck.  
  
The boy— Donghyuck, grabs one of the foldable chairs on display beside the counter and positions it in front of the counter. He peels the wrapping off the gum and pops one in his mouth. He holds his hand out, offering Chanyeol a piece.  
  
Chanyeol grabs one. “What are you doing?”  
  
Donghyuck shifts in the seat, no doubt uncomfortable in the cheap piece of furniture. “I don’t have to be home for a while, and your company isn’t that bad.” He sits up suddenly as if reminded of something, and reaches over the grab something out of the front pocket of his bag. Chanyeol leans over the counter and watches him pull out a 5,000 won bill.  
  
“This is from my brother, again.” He tells him and he stretches up to toss it into the tip jar.  
  
Chanyeol opens his mouth to ask but Donghyuck quickly changes to subject to a boy at his school, a year older, that he’s suddenly finding himself liking. Chanyeol can’t really offer any advice but he pats him awkwardly on the head and tells him: “You can do it.”

*

A few hours after Donghyuck had folded the chair back up and ran out the door, a bright yellow wad of gum stuck in his hair, the door rang, signaling another customer. At the sound Chanyeol looks up from the textbook he was flipping through, his mind numb from the chemistry equations highlighted blue on the pages. He twirls the highlighter around on his finger. He has a quiz tomorrow. The man who walked in idly makes his way through the aisles, his large coat zipped up to his chin and his hat pulled down to his eyebrows. He’s wearing circle frames and Chanyeol wonders if he really needs them.  
  
He looks up a few times to see Chanyeol staring at him, and Chanyeol quickly turns his attention back to the textbook on the counter. A few seconds after the last time Chanyeol hears a cough, and then the clinking of a keychain against the glass counter.  
  
He closes the textbook with the highlighter marking his place and pushes it to the side.  
  
“Is this all?” He asks, picking the item up and scanning the tag even though he knows the price. The man nods and Chanyeol hands him back the keychain. The man hands him a 5,000 won bill.  
  
“Keep the change.” He mumbles through the fabric of his scarf and then he's gone.

*

February bleeds into March and Chanyeol finds the days getting colder. He’ll wake up shivering under a pile of his thickest blankets, his breath a small cloud each time he exhales. The city whirs to life as he makes his way through his apartment, across the street he watches Mr. Kim feed the stray cats that have taken refuge in his ally as he eats his cereal and waves to him as he looks up. He pins a note to the fridge with a small rilakkuma magnet reminding himself to call the landlord and get his heater checked, it comes on but only dust falls through filters.   
  
If it were a weekday he would be running down the stairs by now, his bag open, binders and papers flying everywhere as he tries to make the bus on time, but it’s Saturday and he has a few hours until he has to open the store. He showers fast though, not knowing how long the hot water will last and pulls on the first pair of jeans he sees on the floor.  
  
As he walks out the door Chanyeol pulls his arms through his jacket, there’s a few tears on the elbows and the colour has faded but it keeps him warm and he doesn’t really care for buying a new one. He waves to Mrs. Byun on his way down the stairs, asks politely how her son is doing and frowns slightly at the news that he’s fallen sick again.  
  
“Don’t worry dear, he has two lovely boys taking care of him now.” She tells him, patting him on the arm. Chanyeol smiles and offers to come over sometime, make her dinner but she declines, telling him he ought to spend his days off with people his own age. He nods, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his exposed neck as his cheeks warm.  
  
Usually, he would continue the rest of his walk to the store unhindered, most people knew his schedule, would wave to his as he passed but today was different it seemed. The cold bit at his cheeks and tore at his coat and legs like knives, rippling the fabric harshly. The zippers on his backpack clink against each other, the sound becoming more irritating with each step he makes.

He stops suddenly, in the middle of the busy sidewalk, causing people to stumble into him. He jerks forward at the force but doesn’t make any move to keep walking. Outside the store sits Donghyuck, or at least he thinks it's him, his hair isn’t dark purple anymore nor is it curly. It sits upon his head bright red, like an artificial cherry flavoured candy, the ones that stain your tongue and stick to the back of your teeth. When he sees Chanyeol he sits forward, a large smile on his face and waves, a pair of fingerless gloves on his hands.  
  
Chanyeol’s eyes widen and quickly pulls the store’s key from his pocket. As he gets closer his notices that his exposed fingers are purple, and his coat is paper thin.  
  
“What the hell are you doing out here? It’s freezing.” Chanyeol tells him, opening the door and pulling him inside. Donghyuck grins and throws his backpack on the floor behind the counter.  
  
“I was waiting for you,” He says, “It’s my brother’s birthday and I forgot to get him something.”  
  
Chanyeol’s ears perk at the mention of his mysterious brother, it’s been almost two months since Donghyuck first came into the store and shoved that 5,000 won bill into the tip jar like he was forcing it down Chanyeol’s own throat and while he continues to do so in the name of said brother, he has yet to divulge any other information on him other than the fact that he’s legal age.  
  
Chanyeol hangs his bag and coat up on the hanger behind the counter and takes a seat on the stool. “It’s your brother’s birthday and you’re buying him a gift from my crappy convenience store?”  
  
Donghyuck taps his nose on his way through the aisles, “Yeah— well I mean, It’s not really his birthday that’s in January this is like another thing we do.”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Donghyuck picks something up off the shelf and examines it, “He’s adopted.” He tells him and Chanyeol’s mouth forms a small “o” in surprise. “He was my foster brother for a few years and today, five years ago, was the day they signed the papers.”  
  
Chanyeol hums in acknowledgment as he grabs his textbooks from his bag, “What does your brother do, by the way? I mean you’ve been giving me money for him for two months and I don’t really know anything about him.”  
  
“Well,” Donghyuck starts, “He’s a student like you.” He has about five things piled up in his arms and he continues to look through the items on the clearance shelf.  
  
“What does he study?”  
  
Donghyuck laughs quietly, “It’s kinda sticky situation for him right now.” He says, “He wants to act but dad keeps fighting him about it, saying that he won’t pay for something that won’t get him anywhere in life.”  
  
Chanyeol stares at the diagrams in front of him and feels himself get sick. “What did he do then?”  
  
“He went to school for what my dad wanted,” He huffs and tosses the items he’s chosen on top of the textbook. Chanyeol tries to learn about his brother through them. He picks up the closest item, a pre-loaded mp3 player with nothing on it but Girls Generation songs, and scans it. He smiles softly to himself as he places it in the bag. He scans the rest, a gift-card to a coffee shop down the street, a pair of gloves that you can use on your phone’s screen and last but not least, a magazine with Korea’s favourite idol: Suho.  
  
“What did your dad want him to do?” Chanyeol asks after handing the bag over the counter.  
  
“Math, or science or something, I don’t know I tune out whenever they talk about it,” He makes a face, his tongue falling from his mouth. “It’s so stupid, Kyungsoo just wants to be an actor— and he’s good at it too! Doing something like math isn’t gonna guarantee him a job in the future he might as well do what he wants!” His face is red now, bleeding into the colour of his hair and Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise.  
  
“Is that his name?” Chanyeol asks quickly, before the young boy can go off on another rant again. Donghyuck’s eyes widen and he slaps his partially gloved hands over his mouth.  
  
“Would you believe me if I said no?” There’s a hopeful glint in his eye. Chanyeol shakes his head. “Damn, well yeah, his name is Kyungsoo and he’s super cute Chanyeol, and he’s a good actor— he’s been in something, do you want to see? I have it on my phone.”  
  
The pen Chanyeol was twirling falls from his fingers and onto the concrete floor below him. “Yes. He’s been paying for my ramen for the past two months so of course.” Donghyuck laughs again and he pulls his phone from his back pocket.  
  
He waits anxiously as Donghyuck unlocks his phone and opens up his videos. There’s a knot forming at the bottom of Chanyeol’s stomach as each second passes and Chanyeol can taste bile on the back of his tongue. He’s kind of built Donghyuck's brother up in his mind over the past few weeks, he lays awake at night and wonders what he’s like, wonders why on earth he has his younger brother tipping him everytime he comes into the store.  
  
“Ah, here it is.” Donghyuck says and Chanyeol knits his fingers together on top of the glass. He turns his phone around so that Chanyeol can see but he’s only met with his reflection in the black screen.  
  
“Did your phone just die?” Chanyeol asks and he feels all the built up anxiety fizzle away to nothing.  
  
“What?” Donghyuck turns the screen back to him and he frowns, “Oh, I guess so— What the hell? it was on like 30%.”  
  
“It’s okay, you can show me a picture of my secret admirer another day.” Chanyeol smiles and bends down to pick the pen he previously dropped.  
  
“He does, y’know.” Donghyuck says, peering into the bag in his hands. “Admire you, like you, whatever you want to call it.”  
  
The noise Chanyeol makes wouldn’t necessarily be a squawk, but it comes close. He falls forward as the noise gurgles out from his throat and he falls forward onto the floor. He groans and he hears Donghyuck laughing from the other side of the counter.  
  
“How does he like me?” Chanyeol asks and he pulls himself up, a piece of an incredibly old french fry sticking to his cheek. “We’ve never even met. He’s never even seen me.” He peels it off his cheek and grimaces. When he looks over at the boy he has his phone up and Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrow.  
  
“Did you just take a picture of me?” He moves to  grab the phone from his hands but Donghyuck takes a step back, “I thought your phone was dead.”  
  
“Nah, that was my I-pod.” He turns his phone around to show him the picture. It’s grainy and unfocused, horrible really but you clearly see the dark bags under his eyes and the fry stuck to his cheek.  
  
“Delete that right now.” He tells him and Donghyuck shakes his head.  
  
“No way, it’s a candid masterpiece.”  
  
Chanyeol throws his head onto the counter with a clunk. “Go home Donghyuck. Tell your brother I said happy not-birthday.”  
  
“Oh yeah I probably should be getting back, I kind of snuck out— okay bye Chanyeol! I will!” He exclaims and then the door opens and shuts with a chime, leaving Chanyeol alone.

*

The day passes slowly and with little to no customers other than Donghyuck, it feels like he’s sitting in his own little part of the universe, watching people pass by through the windows, wondering what they’re doing with their own temporary lives. Baekhyun stops by at some point with two other men in tow, both of their hands entwined with Baekhyun’s own. They talk for a bit, Chanyeol asks him how he’s doing, feeling, but Baekhyun changes the subject to his new boyfriends. They leave after that, an invitation to dinner falls from Baekhyun’s lips but Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, let’s it hang in the air until they leave. He texts him a few minutes later to accept.  
  
The door jingles a few moments later and Chanyeol doesn’t look up to see who it is, too immersed in his game of flappy bird to care.  
  
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He asks, his eyebrows knitted together and cheeks puffed out. There’s a cough from the other side of the counter and Chanyeol drops his phone out of surprise.  
  
“Do you greet all your customers like that?” The man asks and Chanyeol scratches at the back of his next, a faint blush warming his cheeks. he recognizes the man from a couple of weeks ago, the one who bought the keychain. He’s not as wrapped up as he was that day, favouring a beige pea coat over his thick parka. There’s still a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck but it isn’t pulled up over his face again and Chanyeol’s eyes glance (only for a second) to the heart-shaped lips he was covering before.  
  
“Uhm.” Chanyeol says intelligently, “No— I was just,” He motions to his phone and the bright blue pixelated world of flappy bird that’s lighting up his screen. “Playing a game.”  
  
“Ah,” The man says. he sniffles quietly and rubs the end of his nose with his gloved hands. There’s something off about him and Chanyeol notices a slight panic behind the frames balancing on his nose. He places two packs of halls on the counter and Chanyeol runs them both over the scanner, wondering what has him so spooked. He looks up at the man again, takes in his red eyes and nose and spins around in his chair to grab a bottle of medicine off the shelf behind him.  
  
“Oh um— I don’t...I can’t” He fumbles over the right words but Chanyeol just puts a hands up to stop him.  
  
“It’s okay it’s on the house,” He smiles and tosses it in the small bag with the halls, “I hope you feel better.”  
  
The man smiles and Chanyeol feels his insides turn to mush. “Thank you Chanyeol, I hope so too.”

*

“When are you gonna show me what your brother looks like?” Chanyeol whines one day, it’s been a week since Donghyuck’s Ipod died before he could see him and Chanyeol feels like he’s going to crawl out of his own skin.  
  
“Wow,” Donghyuck says, exasperated, “You care about looks that much? Maybe I should tell him you're straight and that he doesn’t have a chance. I don’t think I want him to like you anymore.” He pops a bright yellow piece of gum to punctuate his sentences.  
  
Chanyeol throws one of the cheap stuffed animals that he’s setting up at him but he dodges it easily. “I’m not straight, never say that again.” He trudges over and picks the blue bear up off the ground even though it was mere centimeters from where Donghyuck was standing. “And I'm not superficial— I mean looks aren't that important but It’d be nice to know.”  
  
Donghyuck pops another bubble. “I don’t think he’d like me to show you.”  
  
Chanyeol sighs, exasperated. “Is he even _real_ Donghyuck? Do you even have a fucking brother? Or did you just think it would be fun to fuck with the poor student who doesn’t do anything but tend to a piece of shit store?”  
  
Donghyuck stares at him, the gum falling from his mouth. “What the fuck Chanyeol?”  
  
“No— don’t _What the fuck Chanyeol_ me, Is this just a game? Is this some sort of sick charity? Cause if it is I want you to leave, seriously. I don’t have time for this.” He’s seething now, the bear in his hands suffocating under the pressure of his tightening fists.  
  
Donghyuck throws the magazine he was holding onto the floor and takes a step forward. “I’m not fucking playing with you asshole, my brother is real and he fucking likes you for some goddamn reason— and I’m sorry that he’s shy and almost gets a fucking anxiety attack every time I talk about him coming with me here but that’s the way he is and I’m not gonna force him to do something he can’t.”    
  
When he finishes talking the store is filled with nothing but their laboured breaths. Chanyeol stares at the younger boy and he feels his shoulders sag. “I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” His head falls forward, eyes boring into the dirty linoleum.   
  
“It’s okay,” Donghyuck mumbles, “I understand why you’re upset, this is kind of a weird situation.”  
  
Chanyeol laughs at that, and it turns into a sigh as he rubs his palms against his face. “You could say that again.”  
  
Donghyuck smiles and pats Chanyeol’s on the arm, “I gotta go.” He waves his phone in front of Chanyeol’s face indicating that his brother texted him, “I’ll see you later.”  
  
Chanyeol grabs hm by the shoulder before he can turn, “Wait, give me your phone.” Donghyuck pulls the device closer to his chest. “I’m not gonna look for photos of him— I just want his number, can I have that?”  
  
Donghyuck’s face lights up. “Yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?” Chanyeol quickly adds Kyungsoo’s number into his contact list and sends the kid on his way.  
  
**Park Chanyeol  
** hey kyungsoo is it ok that i made donghyuck give me ur #?  
**[Sent: 15:06, unread]**

*

Chanyeol doesn’t get a text back from Kyungsoo until the next day and the answer is simply “Yeah it’s okay”. It’s his day off from the store, Jongin is working today and most likely trying to persuade Donghyuck into buying one of the postcards tacked to the corkboard behind the counter. He spends the day in bed, testing the waters with Kyungsoo, asking him about his likes and dislikes and finds that they actually have more in common than he previously thought.  
  
Donghyuck is thrilled when Chanyeol tells him the next day, and tells him that Kyungsoo has been smiling a lot more around the house, which in turn, makes Chanyeol smile as well.  
  
Sometimes Chanyeol will text him a selfie, just casual ones from behind the counter at work with a text tacked onto the bottom reading: "i hate this place" and Kyungsoo will give it a thumbs up and reply with something like: "it's not that bad the guy that works there is kinda cute" and Chanyeol promptly falls off his stool.

*

It’s been three weeks since Chanyeol got Kyungsoo’s number from Donghyuck and they’ve talked every day. Chanyeol finds himself waking up with a smile on his face and falling asleep with the same expression, his days and dreams filled with nothing but Kyungsoo.  
  
“This is really gross,” Donghyuck announces one day, “Are you sexting my brother right now?” Chanyeol’s smile falls from his lips and pushes Donghyuck off of the counter where he was sitting.  
  
“I’m not sexting your brother, what is wrong with you?” There’s a groan from the other side of the glass and Chanyeol grins to himself.  
  
“Why are you smiling like that then, it’s fucking gross I don’t even smile like that at Mark— and I know what he looks like!” His voice is muted by the far proximity but Chanyeol understands him just fine.  
  
“First of all, yes you do smile like that about Mark, i’ve seen it,” Chanyeol tells him, getting up from the stool. “And second of all, that’s not my fault— I asked you to show me a picture of him and you refused, so.”  
  
Donghyuck mumbles something under his breath and Chanyeol is pretty sure he said something along the lines of: “I don’t look like that at Mark.”  
  
“Sure you don’t bud.” He pats Donghyuck’s head sympathetically and grimaces when his hand comes away bright red. “Gross man, don’t dye your hair so much you’re gonna go bald.”  
  
“Says you, you hypocrite, your hair is dark brown— when I first met you it was orange.” Chanyeol frowns, his shoulders shrugging. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
  
Chanyeol makes his way through the short aisles, straightening the items and moving some back to where they belong. He watches Donghyuck get up off the ground and pulls his backpack onto his shoulders.  
  
“I gotta go, I’m gonna be late for dance practice.” He tells him, zipping his coat up. Chanyeol nods and waves as he opens the door to leave. He pulls his phone out his back pocket at the sound of the chime and see’s an unread message from Kyungsoo on his lock screen. He unlocks his phone and likes it quickly, shoving back into his pocket to answer later.  
  
At the other end of the store there’s an electronic chirp and Chanyeol’s head whips up. The first thing he notices is Donghyuck, still standing in the doorway, eyes wide. The second thing is the man standing opposite of him, his dark hair cut short and his heart-shaped lips agape. Chanyeol’s fingers flex against the cola bottle in his hands and he watches as the man’s eyes shift from Donghyuck to himself.  
  
“What are you doing here Kyungsoo?” Donghyuck tries to whisper but Chanyeol can hear him. The bottle falls from his grip.  
  
The man— Kyungsoo, _holy fuck!_ blinks at Chanyeol then turns around, almost running out of the store.  
  
“Holy fuck.” Chanyeol says, still unmoving, unblinking.  
  
“Go after him you idiot!” Donghyuck yells and Chanyeol almost knocks him over with how fast he runs by.  
  
Chanyeol pushes past strangers and knocks over men, his fingers grip onto shoulders as he tries to make his way through the never-ending labyrinth of bodies but the crowf continues to grow. Chanyeol’s teeth chatter loudly behind his lips and goosebumps form on his exposed skin. His eyes glance over every person he passes but with each tick of the watch on his wrist his stomach sinks further and further.  
  
He keeps running until the hoards of people fade into a few couples and his lungs feel like they’re about to burst beneath his ribs. He leans forward, hands on knees, heartbeat in his throat, his ears and exhales deeply. Chanyeol grits his teeth together, a sob trying to claw its way up his throat but he swallows it down. His breathing slows but he still hears it, the hyperventilating, the muffled swears  
  
He turns his head and he feels every muscle in his body sag in relief. In the alley to his left there’s a short man gripping at his knees as he tries to regain his breath. The sun has set and Chanyeol can see the moon reflected in the drying tears on his cheeks. Chanyeol inhales deeply and takes a step forward, Kyungsoo hasn’t noticed him yet and Chanyeol is painfully aware how much this is like trying to get close to an injured animal.  
  
“Kyungsoo?” He calls out softly and the man looks up, surprised. Chanyeol wonders how he looks to him right now, sweat dripping down his forehead, his uniform stained with pizza grease and paint. Chanyeol wonders if Kyungsoo is wondering that as well, if he’s afraid that Chanyeol won’t like what he sees but Chanyeol’s heart is bursting beneath his chest at the sight of him and with his too short of hair and large glasses perched on his nose, Chanyeol finds him beautiful.  
  
“Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo says and it isn’t a question, it’s a statement, it’s a sentence all on its own.  
  
Chanyeol walks forward until he’s hidden in the alley’s shadows and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen with every step.  
  
“Why are you so afraid?” He asks quietly, reaching forward to wipes the tears that have gathered on his jaw. He smiles softly when Kyungsoo leans into the touch.  
  
“I’m not afraid,” Kyungsoo tells him and Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise, “I’m not, It’s just— I didn’t expect it to end so soon.”  
  
Chanyeol shuffles forward, his lips pulled down into a frown. “Expect what to end so soon? What’s ending Kyungsoo?”  
  
“This,” He waves his hand between the both of them, “Us, whatever we were doing, I don’t know.”  
  
Chanyeol’s head cocks to the side, confused. “Why would it be ending?”  
  
Kyungsoo laughs, it's a painful noise filled with hurt and rejection and Chanyeol's frown deepens at the sound of it. “Don’t act dumb, you liked the idea of me Chanyeol, you liked that it wasn’t real and now that I’m here you’re going to realize that.”  
  
“Where the hell did you get that from? Who said it wasn’t real?” His eyebrows furrow together and Kyungsoo’s mouth falls open. “I never thought that Kyungsoo, not for one second, I _like_ you, like a lot and it’s not ending, I’m not going anywhere.” There’s a beat then, “Are you?”  
  
Kyungsoo gapes at him. “N-No,” He starts, “No I'm not.”  
  
Chanyeol exhales, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He leans forward and rests his forehead against Kyungsoo’s, their tired breaths mingling in the inches between their lips. His eyes flicker down to Kyungsoo’s lips, the ones that had captivated him even before he even knew who he was, and the pink of his tongue peeks out from between them, wetting the drying skin.  
  
“Can I ki—” Chanyeol starts but Kyungsoo beats him to it, his arms winding themselves around Chanyeol’s neck and pulling his lips towards his own. Chanyeol’s own hands frame Kyungsoo’s face, his thumbs rubbing circles against his burning cheeks. They kiss until Kyungsoo pulls back, breathing hard, face flushed, but Chanyeol continues to press his lips against his cheeks, his nose, his chin, everywhere he can reach he lets his lips claim.  
  
“We should get back,” Kyungsoo says, his voice low as Chanyeol sucks on the skin below his jaw. His breath hitches and Chanyeol grins, loving the feeling of it below his lips. Kyungsoo’s fingers curl into the hair on the nape of Chanyeol’s neck and Chanyeol bites down as they scratch against the skin there. “F- _fuck_ , come on Chanyeol.”  
  
Chanyeol laughs against his throat and Kyungsoo hums at the sound of it, his eyes falling closed. Chanyeol wraps his hands around of one Kyungsoo’s own and pulls him out of the alley, both their phones chirping simultaneously. They both look at each other and grab their phones from their pockets.  
  
**Lee Donghyuck  
** can u both stop sucking face and get back here  
i have 2 get to mark’s  
i meant dance sorry lmao autocorrect  
but seriously  
i dont work here and ppl are comin in  
help  
  
“Shit, we better get back before my brother sets your store on fire.” Kyungsoo’s eyes are wide as he pockets his phone and Chanyeol can’t stop staring at him. Kyungsoo stares at him quizzically, a hand coming up to pat on his cheeks. “What is it, is there something on my face?”  
  
Chanyeol bends down and presses his lips against Kyungsoo’s frowning ones. “No, I just think you’re really cute and I wanted to kiss you.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
Even in the darkness of night Chanyeol can see the blood rush to his cheeks and reaches up, cupping them both in his hands. He presses them together and his face squishes, “ _mochi”_  is all Chanyeol can think. He presses a quick kiss to Kyungsoo’s squished lips and entwines their fingers. “You’re right though, let’s head back.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter: [here](twitter.com/uitbaozi)


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